Economy
NSE: What Investors Should Expect in 2019
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) performed woefully in 2018 thanks to the anxiety caused by political happenings in the country ahead of the general elections in 2019.
Several events shaped the state of the stock market last year including the trial of the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki; the defections of politician, especially from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); the warning by a foreign media platform that a second term for President Muhammadu Buhari could spell doom for Nigeria’s economy from 2019; the raising of rates by the United States; the China-US trade tensions; the drop in oil price; and others.
The local bourse, which ended 2017 as the second best in the world with over 40 percent growth, closed 2018 with a decline of over 17 percent.
After the January 2018 bull run, the market struggled thereafter as a result of fears by investors, especially the foreign portfolio investors, who were exiting in droves.
Already in this year, the nation’s bourse is yet to record its first gain, with the year-to-date loss at 2.10 percent as at the close of business on Thursday (yesterday).
In their market expectations report for 2019, analysts at Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) said investors should prepare for the worst this year.
However, they opined that things might get better if the nation record violence-free general elections taking place in few months’ time, adding that earnings season in the third quarter of 2019 will drive valuation of stocks at the market.
The company’s analysts said in the first quarter of this year, investors should expect the persistence of the bearish market as political fracas intensifies, forcing FPI outflow to further push NSE All-Share Index (ASI) south.
They said that in the second quarter, the market index will reach a low point, but will pick up on the back of a violence free handover.
In the third quarter of the year, there would be a gradual restoration of investor confidence, increasing market activities, increasing FPI inflows and drive in the valuation of stocks on the back of earnings season.
In the fourth quarter of the year, there would be further increased investors confidence, positive market performance driven by increasing demand, while MTN likely to have completed listing process.
However, it was stressed that the local stock market would reverse negative trend after the elections, while more companies will approach the debt market to raise fresh funds to boost their operations.
Already, Access Bank is planning to raise fresh capital in the first quarter of 2019 through rights issue as its hopes to complete the acquisition of Diamond Bank by the end of the first half of 2019.
Concluding, FDC analysts said 2019 will be an interesting year with four distinct parts: H1’19 would be solely concentrated on the election and its fallouts; election outcome could swing in any direction like a boycott, run off or conflicts; focus on economic policies and initiatives would begin by H2’19; and currency adjustment is likely to occur by 2019-end.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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